Budget Archive by Fiscal Year

AFSCME membership votes to take unpaid leave

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Yesterday it was announced that members of the state's American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) voted to approve a proposal put forth to them by Gov. Culver and AFSCME leadership regarding mandatory unpaid days. The agreement between the state and AFSCME includes a provision requiring all AFSCME employees in Iowa to take five days of unpaid time off during the remainder of fiscal 2010.

Obviously, this five-day plan is different than the graduated, three-, six- and nine-day approach originally proposed by UNI. How these mandatory unpaid days will be carried out for UNI's AFSCME-represented employees won't be known until further direction is provided by Department of Administrative Services (DAS).

What impact this agreement will have on temporary layoff plans for UNI's other employee groups won't be known until we have details from the DAS and negotiations are completed with United Faculty. The next meeting between UNI and United Faculty is scheduled for Dec. 2.

Other budget-related updates:

1. Temporary reduction in TIAA-CREF employer contributionsEffective Nov. 30, the university is temporarily reducing its employer retirement contribution to TIAA-CREF. The reduced contribution will remain in effect through the June 30, 2011 payroll.

2. Board of RegentsA motion to recommend a $100 spring-semester tuition surcharge was approved by the Board of Regents at its October meeting and will be voted on at its Dec. 10 meeting. The vote regarding 2010/11 tuition has been postponed until February.

I want to thank you again for your continued patience as we work out budget details. More updates will follow.